Angola: Sarah Wykes

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will make urgent representations to the Government of Angola, on behalf of Dr Sarah Wykes, a campaigner for Global Witness, seeking her release from custody and safe return to the United Kingdom.

Lord Triesman: Dr Sarah Wykes returned to the United Kingdom on 19 March. This was as a result of a decision by the Angolan Attorney-General to grant Dr Wykes permission to return to the United Kingdom on the condition that she returns to Angola if the judicial authorities there request it.
	I have been following Dr Wykes's case very closely since her initial detention on 18 February. Indeed I pressed for a speedy resolution to the matter with the Angolan Vice-Minister of Internal Affairs when I saw him in London on 19 February. Dr Wykes was given all appropriate consular assistance throughout.

Arts

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How much money has been allocated per head of the area's population in each of the last five years to the Arts Council of (a) England, (b) Wales; (c) Scotland; and (d) Northern Ireland.

Lord Davies of Oldham: Grant-in-aid allocations per head of the area's population for the past five years are set out in the tables for (a) England, (b) Wales (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland.
	These figures do not include funding from the National Lottery. Census population figures include children and adults.
	
		
			 (a) England
			 Year Grant in aid (£s) Population Spend per head (£) 
			 2001-02 251,455,000 49,387,700 5.09 
			 2002-03 289,405,000 49,561,800 5.84 
			 2003-04 324,955,000 49,855,700 6.52 
			 2004-05 368,859,000 50,093,100 7.36 
			 2005-06 412,000,000 50,431,700 8.17 
			 * Source: Office of National Statistics mid-year population estimates
		
	
	
		
			 (b) Wales
			 Year Grant in aid (£s) Population Spend per head (£) 
			 2001-02 16,529, 000 2,910,232 5.68 
			 2002-03 21,163, 000 2,923,392 7.24 
			 2003-04 22,797, 000 2,937,991 7.76 
			 2004-05 23,848, 000 2,952,462 8.08 
			 2005-06 26,930, 000 2,958,590 9.10 
		
	
	
		
			 (c) Scotland
			 Year Grant in Aid (£s) Population* Spend per Head (£) 
			 2001-02 37,653, 790 5,064,200 7.44 
			 2002-03 37,158, 000 5,054,800 7.35 
			 2003-04 44,191, 999 5,057,400 8.73 
			 2004-05 52,207, 629 5,078,400 10.28 
			 2005-06 54,556, 240 5,094,800 10.70 
			 *Source: Scottish Executive Census 2001
		
	
	
		
			 (d) Northern Ireland
			 Year Grant in aid (£s) Population Spend per head (£) 
			 2001-02 8,696,000 1,689,319 5.15 
			 2002-03 9,826,000 1,696,641 5.79 
			 2003-04 9,826,000 1,702,628 5.77 
			 2004-05 11,050, 000 1,710,322 6.46 
			 2005-06 10,780, 000 1,724,408 6.25

Blackpool

Lord Greaves: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What advice, support and assistance they are giving, and plan to give, to Blackpool to develop and carry out an alternative strategy for regeneration in the resort which does not involve setting up a new casino.

Baroness Andrews: A number of government departments and all the regional agencies are working with Blackpool to support regeneration in the town. There is the recognition that the casino decision has had an impact on Blackpool's plans to stimulate its regeneration through tourism. The North West Development Agency (NWDA) is working with Blackpool Council, English Partnerships and the Urban Regeneration Company ReBlackpool to agree a long-term strategy that would enable Blackpool to build on the importance of leisure and tourism and to develop a more sustainable economy. English Partnerships, the Housing Corporation and Government Office for the North West are already working closely with Blackpool Council on a strategy to create a more balanced and stable housing market with a greater choice of housing and tenure.
	My honourable friend the Minister for Local Government and Communities is to meet Blackpool Council in the near future.

British Citizenship

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will place in the Library of the House any documents pertaining to the exercise of discretion under Article 4(4) of the Hong Kong (British Nationality) Order 1986 with respect to registration as a British national (overseas) for applications made (a) in the United Kingdom; (b) in Hong Kong; and (c) at consular posts.

Lord Triesman: There is no current guidance on the exercise of discretion in connection with registration as a British national (overseas) under Article 4(4) of the Hong Kong (British Nationality) Order 1986, as the final deadlines for registration were in September 1997. The guidance issued to overseas staff at that time is therefore no longer relevant; however, a copy of that guidance will be placed in the Library for reference purposes.

Care Services

Lord Hanningfield: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 5 March (WA 6), what estimate they have made of the number of houses sold from the estate of a resident on death in order to pay the costs of care provided by a local authority.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: Information about the sale of property to pay for residential care is not collected centrally nor is it automatically collected locally where a person arranges their care privately. It is not, therefore, possible to estimate the number of homes sold for this purpose.

Child Protection: Schools

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many cases were referred to the List 99 Teachers Misconduct Team in England and Wales in 2003, 2004 and 2005; and
	How many letters of written warning were issued in England and Wales to teachers for inappropriate sexual behaviour towards pupils in 2003, 2004 and 2005.

Lord Adonis: The number of cases in England and Wales referred to and concluded by the department's List 99 team in the relevant years is set out in the table below:
	
		
			  Cases Referred Cases Concluded 
			 2003 1,147 1,047 
			 2004 1,362 1,370 
			 2005 2,092 2,554 
		
	
	The department may issue written warnings to school staff in connection with a range of misconduct—for example, impropriety and theft— and inappropriate sexual behaviour towards children. The number of written warnings issued to staff in schools by the List 99 Teachers Misconduct Team in each of the relevant years was as follows:
	
		
			 2003: 79 
			 2004: 198 
			 2005: 81 
		
	
	Due to the way in which information is currently recorded, it is not possible to indicate the number of these cases where staff in schools were issued with written warnings for inappropriate sexual behaviour. The department does not maintain records of written warnings issued to staff by employers as a result of local disciplinary proceedings, as this is a matter for the employer concerned.

Crime: Northern Ireland

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many people did not answer police bail in each of the last five years in Northern Ireland.

Lord Rooker: The Police Service of Northern Ireland has advised that the information requested by the noble Lord would require a manual trawl of prosecution files and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Drugs: Cannabis

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether their policy on cannabis reflects the possibility that cannabis is capable of relieving severe pain suffered by victims of arthritis.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: Because of evidence of risks of harm, cannabis-based products are controlled drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act. The most recent advice to the Home Secretary on the requirements for controls from the Advisory Committee on the Misuse of Drugs was published in January 2006.
	Currently cannabis-based medicinal products are not licensed under the Medicines Act in the United Kingdom but are available for prescription under named patient arrangements. Responsibility for prescribing under these circumstances falls to the clinician.
	If clinical trials were to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of cannabis extract in relieving the pain associated with arthritis, this drug could be licensed and made available in the same way as other analgesics available for treating arthritic pain.

Energy: Biofuels

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How much money has so far been contributed by the Department of Trade and Industry's research programmes to the development of second-generation biofuels.

Lord Truscott: The DTI has spent around £438,000 on second-generation biofuels since 2002 via the Technology Programme and the New and Renewables Energy Programme.
	In addition, research council expenditure on bioenergy since 1997 is more than £20 million, including support for research into biofuels, biomass and light harvesting in biological systems.

Energy: Renewables Obligation Scheme

Lord Beaumont of Whitley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What sums the renewables obligation buy-out fund has distributed during each year of the operation of the renewables obligation scheme; and, in each case, to what organisations; and
	What has been the total revenue raised for dispersal by the Government through renewables obligation buy-out payments during each year of the operation of the renewables obligation scheme.

Lord Truscott: The detail of revenue raised for dispersal by the Government through renewables obligation buy-out payments and the sums distributed, and to whom, is shown in the table below:
	
		
			 Supplier name 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 
			 Airtricity Energy Supply Ltd n/a n/a n/a £55,557 
			 BizzEnergy Ltd £0 £0 £67,621 £346,563 
			 British Energy £2,523,904 £699,133 £2,331,282 £6,117,398 
			 British Gas Trading Limited £15,812,265 £33,017,071 £22,096,276 £19,969,937 
			 Cinergy £3,378 £11,985 £13,327 £0 
			 Economy Power £344,029 £51,748 £0 £228,746 
			 Edf Energy £19,466,648 £0 £0 £0 
			 Electricity Direct (UK) Ltd £0 £2,312,028 £1,077,987 £96,225 
			 Enron Gas & Petrochemicals Trading Ltd £0 £0 £0 £0 
			 ESB Independent Energy n/a n/a n/a £327,404 
			 Gaz de France Marketing Ltd £0 £0 £0 £1,624,154 
			 Good Energy Ltd £0 £43,039 £41,935 £48,883 
			 Innogy £6,372,627 £0 £0 £0 
			 London Energy Plc £0 £27,089,029 £17,442,369 £16,023,151 
			 npower Direct Ltd £0 £502,314 £1,676,436 £1,096,734 
			 npower Ltd £0 £4,903,426 £14,386,488 £9,775,859 
			 npower Ltd (NI) £0 £0 £0 £362 
			 npower Northern Ltd £0 £1,392,744 £3,662,850 £1,888,389 
			 npower Yorkshire Ltd £0 £903,813 £2,024,253 £992,581 
			 Opus Energy £5,880 £0 £127,541 £134,851 
			 E.ON UK Plc £0 £17,632,269 £13,433,899 £10,227,086 
			 Powergen Retail Ltd £22,878,003 £21,593,266 £21,319,801 £16,746,310 
			 Renewable Energy Co £122,724 £0 £115,634 £0 
			 SSE Energy Supply Ltd £6,932,210 £29,176,553 £22,292,682 £23,355,455 
			 Scottish Power Energy Retail Ltd £4,701,228 £9,950,663 £8,786,381 £13,311,666 
			 Seeboard Energy Ltd £0 £7,005,275 £4,105,068 £3,541,423 
			 Slough Electricity £45,178 £153,137 £153,391 £130,200 
			 SmartestEnergy Limited £0 £69,440 £105,761 £101,247 
			 The Renewable Energy Company Ltd £0 £241,921  £71,960 
			 Total Gas & Power Ltd £0 £992,299 £855,854 £941,108 
			 Tradelink Solutions Ltd £0 £68 £2,198 £14,676 
			 Tradelink Solutions Ltd (NI) n/a n/a n/a £9 
			 UK Electric Power Ltd £0 £706,650 £0 £0 
			 Utility Link £43,856 £18,631 £50,880 £0 
			 TOTAL redistributed from buy-out fund £79,251,930 £158,466,502 £136,169,914 £127,167,934 
			 TOTAL paid into buy-out fund £78,853,260 £157,960,978 £135,657,002 £126,714,597 
			 n/a = NI suppliers that could only receive a share of the RO buy-out fund from 1 April 2006 when single recycling was introduced and the NIRO came into force. Difference between total paid into and total paid out from buy-out fund is due to interest.

EU: Treaties

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the debate on 15 March (Official Report, cols. 826-28), whether they will grant a referendum to the British people on any proposed European Union treaty which proposes a new European Union foreign secretary, a more permanent President of the Council and the re-weighting of votes in the Council.

Lord Triesman: Under the UK's constitutional arrangements, it is ultimately for Parliament to decide whether to hold a referendum given the particular circumstances of the issue. On certain issues, the Government have recommended that particular arrangements should be subject to a referendum, but there is no requirement to hold one.
	There is no consensus among EU member states on the way forward regarding the constitutional treaty. The German presidency will present a report to the June European Council on the state of discussions on the future of Europe. The Government make no presumption on the outcome of these discussions. Their approach was set out in my right honourable friend the Minister for Europe's Written Ministerial Statement of 5 December 2006 (Official Report,Commons, cols. 10-11WS). This remains the Government's position.

EU: Treaties

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the debate on 15 March (Official Report, cols. 826-28), whether they will veto or grant a referendum to the British people on any proposed European Union treaty which proposes to grant legal personality to the European Union superior to that of the member states.

Lord Triesman: Under the UK's constitutional arrangements, it is ultimately for Parliament to decide whether to hold a referendum given the particular circumstances of the issue. On certain issues, the Government have recommended that particular arrangements should be subject to a referendum, but there is no requirement to hold one.
	There is no consensus among EU member states on the way forward regarding the constitutional treaty. The German presidency will present a report to the June European Council on the state of discussions on the future of Europe. The Government make no presumption on the outcome of these discussions. Their approach was set out in my right honourable friend the Minister for Europe's Written Ministerial Statement of 5 December 2006 (Official Report, Commons, cols.10-11WS). This remains the Government's position.

Fire and Rescue Service

Lord Berkeley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	In respect of fires in which a gas cylinder is suspected to be present, whether it is standard practice for fire services to declare a 200-metre radius exclusion zone for 24 hours to allow cylinders to cool down; and whether there is a quicker way to render such gas cylinders safe.

Baroness Andrews: It is standard practice for fire and rescue services, in liaison with the police, to consider setting up an initial hazard zone, extending to a maximum of 200 metres from a cylinder that has been involved in a fire. Identification of the type of cylinder is then undertaken and an appropriate operational plan put in place. If the cylinder cannot be identified or it is confirmed to be an acetylene cylinder, the following action is recommended.
	A 200-metre hazard zone should be introduced and the cylinders should be left in situ for a minimum period of 24 hours following removal from any heat source. Cooling water should be applied to the cylinder for the whole 24 hours where the situation permits.
	The incident commander, following a dynamic risk assessment, may reduce the size of the hazard zone within this 24-hour period. The assessment will take account of:
	the nature of the incident;the nature of the surrounding/adjacent risks;the risks to firefighters providing cooling water sprays;the adequacy of any shielding;the nature and effects of any cooling water;the environmental impact;whether the cylinder walls are cool; and specialist advice.
	Currently there are no other methods in use within the UK to render acetylene cylinders safe that have been involved in fire. However, research is being undertaken by stakeholders to assess methods utilised in other countries. These stakeholders include Her Majesty's Government, the Chief Fire Officers' Association, the Highways Agency and the British Compressed Gas Association.

Health: Doctors

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What action they are taking to ensure that junior doctors are not disadvantaged in applying for specialty registrar posts by the Medical Training Application Service's technical difficulties.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: Recruitment to specialty and general practitioner training programmes this year is, for the first time, through the online Medical Training Application Service (MTAS) and to a nationally agreed timetable. This process consists of two recruitment rounds.
	For the very small number of applicants who had problems submitting their application forms via MTAS by the deadline, there was a process in place for their cases to be considered by a scrutiny panel. Individuals have been notified directly of the results of this process, and 20 applicants were allowed to submit late applications.

Health: Doctors

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What action they are taking to ensure that experienced junior doctors do not leave the National Health Service if they are unable to secure an appropriate training post as a result of the move to the Modernising Medical Careers training system.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: Junior doctors will be able to apply for other National Health Service medical jobs advertised by NHS trusts and for places on specialty training programmes as vacancies arise. NHS employers are working with stakeholders to ensure that support can be offered to applicants who do not secure a training post and that they can readily access other suitable NHS medical jobs.

Health: Doctors

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How junior doctors can appeal against a decision not to shortlist them for training posts; and
	How those doctors who do not secure posts in the current Medical Training Application Service round can obtain feedback on their performance in interview; and
	How those doctors who do not secure posts in the current Medical Training Application Service round can view the scores afforded to their application forms.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: Recruitment to specialty and general practitioner training programmes this year is, for the first time, through the online Medical Training Application Service (MTAS) and to a nationally agreed timetable. This process consists of two recruitment rounds.
	The independent review group led by Professor Neil Douglas has recommended that applicants who have not been invited to an interview should be given the opportunity to have their application form reviewed by a trained medical adviser.
	The review group has also recommended that further advice and information should be made available as quickly as possible for applicants. The department has accepted that this will include:
	information about competition ratios by specialty, entry level and geography;the process and timetable for making applications in the second round plus generic guidance about what panels will be looking for;generic feedback on how applicants can improve their applications for the second round; information about sources of support for applicants; andenhanced frequently asked questions on the MTAS website, building on feedback from the first round.
	The next stage of the review will consider what further arrangements might be needed for the support and care of applicants. Applicants who believe that they have been disadvantaged by the way their application has been managed can lodge a complaint at the end of the second round.

Health: Doctors

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How the Medical Training Application Service is auditing the scoring of application forms to ensure consistency of standards.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: There is national guidance and training delivered for selectors and assessors undertaking recruitment to ensure consistency of standards. Postgraduate deans are responsible for ensuring that these standards are maintained. The Medical Training Application Service (MTAS) system provides for an audit of such scores.
	The review under way will also test the functionality of the MTAS IT requirements. The review panel has also commissioned an audit of the long- and short-listing process managed by the deaneries.

Health: Doctors

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How the Medical Training Application Service is detecting those applications for posts that were completed with the assistance of an outside agency.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: There is a procedure written by the London postgraduate deanery, which advises recruiters how to question appropriately the probity of an application should there be concerns that applications have been substantially formulated around the content provided by a third party. The procedure has been issued to all recruiters involved in selection to specialty training programmes through the Medical Training Application Service.

Health: Doctors

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How the Medical Training Application Service is providing for those doctors who, despite having been assured prior to application that such clashes would not occur, fail to obtain a post because the interview dates clashed in the specialty applied for.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The small number of applicants who were short-listed for specialties with interview slots taking place at the same time were advised to contact deaneries directly to rearrange interviews accordingly. The London postgraduate deanery provided a central service for all applicants who needed to rearrange interviews.

Health: Modernising Medical Careers

Lord McColl of Dulwich: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is their response to the Modernising Medical Careers scheme.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: Modernising Medical Careers (MMC) is a policy agreed by Ministers in the four United Kingdom health departments. It will improve the quality and safety of patient care through more structured, competency-based training, focusing on clinical and more generic skills designed to meet the needs of patients and the service.
	We have acknowledged that there have been shortcomings this year in the recruitment and selection process that supports MMC and are taking forward action to address these issues.

Health: MRSA

Baroness Masham of Ilton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many samples of blood were tested to detect Panton-Valentine leukocidin community-associated methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus by the Health Protection Agency Centre for Infections located at Colindale in the last 12 months; and how many samples tested positive.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The latest data available are for 2005 and show that:
	6,549 isolates of all types of staphylococcus aureus were referred to the Health Protection Agency Staphylococcus Reference Laboratory for testing, including both methicillin-sensitive staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) and methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)strains;1,277 of these were from blood samples;toxin gene testing was requested on 196 of the staphylococcus aureus from blood cultures (these included both MSSA and MRSA); andeight of the 196 samples were identified as Panton-Valentine leukocidin-positive MRSA.

Housing: Affordable Homes

Baroness Scott of Needham Market: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	On what basis the Deputy Prime Minister proposed that affordable homes would be available.

Baroness Andrews: The Design for Manufacture competition was opened on 1 April 2005. Its purpose is to provide a showcase of how to build cost-effectively across a range of housing types without sacrificing quality.
	It aims to stimulate fresh thinking on a scale that will help the industry break out of the research and development cycle, facilitating the mainstreaming of modern construction for volume developments in a way that others can follow.
	The target for the competition is that a minimum of 30 per cent of housing units should be high-quality 76.5 square metre homes built at a construction cost of £60,000 or less, with larger and smaller homes built at a similar cost-efficiency. To identify what might be a challenging but achievable figure for the core costs of constructing a home, a series of data sets, such as those produced by the RICS Building Costs Information Service and the Tender Price Index of Social Housing, were used as well as real-life case studies. The sale prices of homes will include the cost of the land as well as the construction cost and associated new infrastructure.
	Prices in different neighbourhoods can be very variable, depending on particular characteristics of the location, the local market and the individual properties to be sold. They will be determined by the developers at the time the homes go on sale.

Housing: Energy Reports

Baroness Hanham: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many energy inspectors have been trained to date; and how many will be trained by June; and
	How many energy inspectors will be required to provide sufficient coverage for every property being put on sale from June.

Baroness Andrews: Previous estimates have projected demand for home inspectors (HIs) and domestic energy assessors (DEAs) from June 2007 to fall within a range between 1,600 and 4,300. Further analysis has been completed, informed by the HIPs area trials and other survey work. We now estimate that around 2,500 assessors will be needed from June, rising to around 3,000 by the autumn and 4,000 to 4,500 by the end of the year. More assessors will be needed during 2008 to produce EPCs for commercial buildings and for those in the private and social rented sector.
	Home inspectors and domestic energy assessors will be able to produce energy performance certificates. Currently, 1,085 HIs have completed their HI examinations, with several hundred more nearing the end of their training.
	Since training courses for new domestic energy assessors (DEAs) became available in late January, more than 2,700 candidates have registered for or begun training. The DEA diploma course takes eight to 12 weeks, so the first candidates are now completing their courses. Eighty-six have completed the course and hundreds more will do so in the next few weeks. We estimate that between 2,500 and 3,000 assessors and inspectors will be available to undertake assessments from l June.

Housing: Home Information Packs

Baroness Scott of Needham Market: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How they intend to respond to the request from the Council of Mortgage Lenders that the 1 June implementation of home information packs be delayed.

Baroness Andrews: The Government have already responded to the CML directly on this issue. We remain on track to deliver and do not feel that a delay beyond the 1 June implementation date is warranted.

Information Systems: DWP

Lord Harris of Haringey: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	In respect of the Department for Work and Pensions, (a) on how many occasions in the last year malicious programs have compromised departmental computer systems; and, for each occasion, how many machines were affected; how long it took to remove the programs from the system; and what was the impact on the department's activities; (b) what penetration tests have been carried out of information systems over the last year and what were the results, indicating in each instance whether the tests were carried out independently of the providers of the system concerned; and (c) on how many occasions in the last year the departmental management team has considered information risk.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: In the past year, the computer systems at the Department for Work and Pensions have been compromised by malicious programs on two separate occasions. On the first occasion a significant number of Jobpoints were found to have no anti-virus software installed and a number of these machines were infected with a virus. On the second occasion a web server was found to have been compromised with malicious software. The malicious programs were removed in both cases as soon as practicable, and all Jobpoints now have up-to-date anti-virus software installed. Neither incident had a significant detrimental impact on the day-to-day running of the Department for Work and Pensions operations. Further to this, there are a number of instances where malicious software has been automatically cleansed (by the anti-virus software) from Department for Work and Pensions systems; however, in these instances no impact was experienced. Collection of further information on these instances would require a disproportionate allocation of resources.
	Since January 2006 there have been 28 penetration tests performed on Department for Work and Pensions information systems. Medium weaknesses were discovered in three cases, minor weaknesses in six cases and no weaknesses were discovered for the remainder. Plans are in place to address all outstanding weaknesses. Full details are tabled in appendix A.
	Consideration of risk is integral to all aspects of the design, development and operation of our processes. In addition, regular updates on information risk are produced and several forums are dedicated to the management of information risk.
	The Planning, Performance and Risk Sub-Committee is a sub-committee of the Department for Work and Pensions executive team. It meets each month and has a risk-based agenda.
	
		
			 Appendix A 
			 Date Independence System Results Comments 
			 Jan 06 No Video Conference Peel Park No weakness  
			 Feb 06 No Longbenton Telephony No weakness  
			 Feb 06 No Washington DC (GSI, CRAS and BCC) No weakness  
			 Mar 06 No AT Remote Minor weakness  
			 Apr 06 No RSM-AP Minor weakness  
			 Apr 06 No Falkirk Telephony No weakness  
			 Apr 06 No Bangor Telephony No weakness  
			 May 06 No Blackberry Minor weakness  
			 May 06 No PTP Telephony No weakness  
			 Jul 06 No ERF Minor weakness  
			 Jul 06 No VMP VOIP No weakness  
			 Jul 06 No POP Telephony No weakness  
			 Aug 06 No Debt Management Telephony No weakness  
			 Sept 06 Yes RM Minor weakness  
			 Sept 06 No BlackBerry Pre live No weakness  
			 Sept 06 No Internet Gateways No weakness  
			 Oct 06 No ASTRI Phase 3 No weakness  
			 Oct 06 No ASTRI Phase 4 No weakness  
			 Oct 06 No ASTRI Phase 5 No weakness  
			 Nov 06 No 3G No weakness  
			 Dec 06 No Operator Consoles Telephony No weakness  
			 Dec 06 No WiFi Minor weakness Pilot only 
			 Dec 06 No IPCC Voice Recording No weakness  
			 Jan 07 No BlackBerry Live Update No weakness  
			 Jan 07 No Strategic Search Medium weakness System still in pilot 
			 Jan 07 No DWP DSA Medium weakness System still in pilot 
			 Feb 07 No ERF (Live) Medium weakness Resolution in progress 
			 Feb 07 No EDS MWH No weakness

Information Systems: Hospitals

Lord Harris of Haringey: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Which hospitals maintain all or the bulk of their electronic patient records off-site; and whether the information security risks have been properly assessed in each case.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: Comprehensive information is not available in the form requested. Such information as is available has been placed in the Library.

Information Systems: Risk Management

Lord Harris of Haringey: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What guidance is provided by the Department of Health to local health authorities, National Health Service trusts, primary care trusts, other health bodies and general practitioners on information risk management.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: National Health Service organisations have been provided with comprehensive guidance on information security risk management through the NHS information governance toolkit. The toolkit is a web-based resource developed by the department and managed by the department's NHS "Connecting for Health" agency, which enables organisations to measure their compliance with a range of requirements and best practice in line with the relevant International Organisation for Standardisation (IOS) standard, ISO 17799. Further details can be found at www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk/infogov.

Interrogation

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the conditioning of detainees by hooding, ordering them into a stress position and deprivation of sleep to sustain the impact of detention prior to interrogation, as described at the recent court martial, is in accordance with the requirements of the Geneva Conventions; and, if so, whether it is allowed explicitly or implicitly by those conventions.

Lord Drayson: Court martial proceedings at the Bulford Court Martial Centre in respect of soldiers from the Queen's Lancashire Regiment, now the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, have not yet concluded. It would be inappropriate to answer this question at present, as to do so risks prejudicing the outcome of those proceedings.

Iraq: Yellowcake Claims

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will now disclose the claimed separate intelligence on the alleged attempt by Iraq to buy yellowcake from Niger cited by Lord Butler of Brockwell in his review of the intelligence used to justify the invasion of Iraq.

Lord Triesman: As reported by Lord Butler of Brockwell in his review of intelligence on weapons of mass destruction,
	"The British Government had intelligence from several different sources indicating that [a visit to Niger by Iraqi officials in 1999] was for the purpose of acquiring uranium. Since uranium constitutes almost three-quarters of Niger's exports, the intelligence was credible. The evidence was not conclusive that Iraq actually purchased, as opposed to having sought, uranium and the British Government did not claim this".
	The Government have fully accepted Lord Butler's report. There are no plans to disclose the intelligence.

Manchester

Lord Morris of Manchester: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	To how many destinations worldwide Manchester airport offers direct flights; and how this compares with the number of flights offered by other airports in the north of England.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: The data requested can be found in annex A of the Air Transport White Paper Progress Report 2006 on the Department for Transport's website at www.dft.gov.uk.

Marine Environment: Seismic Detonations

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What assessment they have made of the scientific evidence on the distances over which acoustic disturbances, caused by seismic detonations in oil surveys in the oceans, can affect marine life.

Lord Truscott: Since 1999 Her Majesty's Government have made frequent assessments of the nature, spatial extent and potential effects on marine life of noise from oil industry seismic surveys, both in response to specific applications for consent to undertake such surveys and as part of the DTI's programme of strategic environmental assessments (SEAs) prior to further oil and gas licensing. The latter assessments are documented in the environmental reports for each SEA, and each subsequent report is updated to include any relevant new information on noise characteristics, propagation, receptors such as marine mammals, potential effects and mitigation measures, including the results of research commissioned by HMG. All the SEA environmental reports and the underpinning studies are available from the website www.offshore-sea.org.uk.

Multiculturalism

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by Baroness Andrews on 19 February (WA 188), whether their encouragement of diversity in the public sector to assist cohesion extends to the formation of white associations, men's associations, straight groups, a multiplicity of Christian and other religious groups and sects and other organisations; and, if so, what form such encouragement takes.

Baroness Andrews: All staff are free to set up associations, provided they are not contrary to the aims or values of the department concerned. The Government will give active encouragement to staff associations representing groups of employees where there is evidence that those groups are suffering disadvantage in outcomes of HR processes in comparison to the workforce as a whole. The form that that encouragement takes may vary from department to department but may include, for example, financial support or facility time for officers of associations.

Muslims

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether it is relevant to their decision-making process in foreign and domestic affairs for them to know the proportions of Sunni and Shia Muslims respectively ordinarily resident in the Great Britain.

Baroness Andrews: The Government recognise the need to understand the diversity of Muslim communities in the UK. Denominational differences are more complex than the Sunni/Shia distinction. Characteristics of subcategories such as Brelwi, Deobandi and Imami, and cross-cutting trends such as Sufism, are also important. The Government also recognise that British Muslims' experiences differ according to other interrelated factors including ethnicity, gender, age and geographical location. Foreign-policy decisions are not affected by the domestic composition of the UK population.

Olympic Games 2012: Transportation of Materials

Lord Berkeley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by Lord Davies of Oldham on 6 March (WA 38), with which train operators and suppliers of materials they had discussions over importing materials for the Stratford Olympic site by rail or water.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has held discussions with a range of organisations. However, the contracts for the transportation of materials for the Olympic park site have yet to be procured so commercial details cannot be disclosed at this stage. The ODA's procurement policy stipulates that it has a statutory obligation to comply with the EU public procurement directives and the UK public contracts regulations 2006. The ODA's approach to procuring the required resources in relation to material transfer on the Olympic park site will be consistent with these statutory obligations.

Opencast Mining

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will recommend a buffer zone of at least 500 metres between an opencast mining site and domestic residences to protect public health and environmental well-being.

Baroness Andrews: The Government have no plans to introduce a planning policy recommending a uniform buffer zone for opencast mining sites in England. They consider that the interests of the occupants and users of neighbouring properties and of the environment are better served by the present practice of considering the specific impacts of individual proposed mining schemes in the light of all the local relevant circumstances, as part of the preparation of an environmental impact assessment for an application for planning permission.

Philippines: Arrests and Extra-judicial Killings

Lord Alton of Liverpool: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What representations they have made to the Government of the Philippines about the recent spate of extra-judicial killings and the arrest of the leader of the opposition in the Philippine Congress, Congressman Satur Ocampo.

Lord Triesman: We continue to be concerned about extra-judicial killings in the Philippines. We welcome the visit by Philip Alston, UN special rapporteur on extra-judicial killings, to the Philippines in February and will encourage the Philippine Government to follow any recommendations that Professor Alston might make. We have not made representations to the Philippine Government about the arrest of the deputy minority leader of the House of Representatives, Congressman Ocampo.

Philippines: Elections

Lord Alton of Liverpool: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What assessment they have made of the arrangements in place for the conduct of the forthcoming elections in the Philippines.

Lord Triesman: The Philippines is a democratic country with systems in place to promote free and fair elections. We have discussed the mid-term elections with the Philippine Government and electoral authorities and are encouraging a transparent and fair electoral process. Representatives from our embassy in Manila will observe the polling on 14 May.
	At the last general election, we funded a visit to the UK by an official from the Philippine Commission on Elections to observe the election process. We are also funding a project supported by the International Federation on Election Systems on the laws and regulations on campaign finance and reporting drafted by the Lawyers' League for Liberty.

Press Complaints Commission

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is their response to the view of the Equalities Review Panel that the Press Complaints Commission should review its complaints mechanisms so as to consider complaints about coverage on the basis of discrimination or prejudice against, or stereotyping of, groups as well as individuals; and, if so, whether they will offer the Commission technical help in drafting the necessary amendments to their code.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The Government support self-regulation for the press. The content of the editors' code of practice is therefore a matter for the Press Standards Board of Finance's code committee. Should it request help in drafting any amendment, we would be happy to provide it. The code's current main provision for protecting groups of people from discrimination is the overarching reach of the clause on accuracy.

Special Advisers

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they propose to reallocate the Northern Ireland Office political adviser Phil Taylor to another department.

Lord Rooker: No. The Secretary of State's special adviser Philip Taylor will be taking special leave without pay from 1 May to work on the Secretary of State's campaign for the deputy leadership of the Labour Party. Prior to that, he will be on leave from the Northern Ireland Office from the beginning of April.

Trade: Manufacturing

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What was the effect on United Kingdom manufacturing jobs in 2006 of the increase in that year in the United Kingdom's deficit with the rest of the world on its trade in goods.

Lord Truscott: Workforce jobs in UK manufacturing fell by 53,000 to 3.26 million between December 2005 and December 2006; the UK's trade in goods deficit increased from £68.8 billion to £83.7 billion between 2005 and 2006.
	It is inappropriate to draw a direct link between the balance of trade in goods and manufacturing employment, given that the relationship can be affected by a number of differing factors.
	Our main competitors, France, Germany and the US, have experienced a downward trend in manufacturing employment in recent years. Sometimes these countries had a balance of trade in goods surplus; sometimes they had a deficit, at the same time as falling manufacturing employment.

Ulster-Scots Agency

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What proposals they have to increase the funding of the Ulster-Scots Agency; and when they propose that the agency will have parity of funding with the Irish Language Agency.

Lord Rooker: Following on from the commitment made by the Government in respect of Ulster Scots in the St Andrews agreement, the Government and the Irish Government have agreed that additional resources of £0.5 million will be made available to the Ulster-Scots Agency in 2007-08, £0.75 million in 2008-09 and £1 million in 2009-2010. The latter two years' additional funding is subject to the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review in Northern Ireland. The budgets for the Ulster-Scots Agency and the Irish Language Agency, Foras na Gaeilge, are determined in accordance with their agreed annual business plans.